Leg support device



June 21, 1949. AM 2,473,947

LEG SUPPORT DEVICE Filed Sept. 15, 1947 ail 7Q???) WALTER P. HAMSTROM 311081)! BB A g/Z19 (Ittomegs Patented June 21, 1949 um-ran PATENT OFFIC E :IQEG QUPPOR'I FDEVICE Walter PEiflanistrbmi seattleg'wash.

" Applicatiori' September 13, IQQ'Z SEHHIFNGQ 7731913 I 3 Glaims. +1 '-.My" present invention r el'afiz'es to the g erleml *fieldof automobile acee'ssories and more lticularly to a leg support device.

In driving an automobilel particularlyfor rang periods; considerable iati'gue, "both? physical and the" automobilesdriveroi' thisi.unnecessary strain and fatigue.

The principal objeot -of' my pre'sent invention, thereforefis'rato provide' a legrest -for theQ-Toot- 'thrott1e'-operating 1eg -of the car driver; which its--50 arranged'so as 'iso" reduce ifatigue-vand strain I toaminimum.

A 'furtherobject of my present invention iis toriprovide a" leg: rest for u'se' in an automobile which is rreadily' adjustable for height, sc -that =just sufficient support is g-ivenztheidpefitbf s to relieve strain" and fatigue without :in: any 'way impairing the: circulatorysystem.

A: furtheriobject ofiimy-ipresentr: finverition ls to provide. a leg-rest :unit that is capable of being swung from :oner'sposition ito andther transversely or the car; so that the angle ofthevoperators legoan bei quicklyr-and': easily changed.

A further object of present Iinventi'on" is' -to provide a leg rest 'so' arranged that 'the leg-supporting member canr'betwisted or turned-about the vertical axis of the supportiso that the supporting pad can be "accurately i'position-ed *for maximum comfort of the operator.

A-iurthertobjeet. bf 'mylpresent invention is to provide resilient means within my leg-supporting device so 'th'at rhinorroad shocks will not be transmitted from the-wear .to the-drivers leg.

A further object of my presentinvention is to provide a height adjustment that is capable of infinitely-close -settings .-and=which will yield if undue road shocks'are encountered.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities Will be. apparent from the"descriptionariddls- :closure in'the -clrawings; or may" be comprehended 'nr are' inherent 'inthedevlce. 4

iIn'the drawings "Fig; 1 is -"a perspectiveview' showingthe nian- :ner. in which my legsupport device is used.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the details of structure of my leg support.

"iE-ig5-.3,* 4?:and 5 .areiragmentary vertical sectional views taken along similalrly-numbered cutt'ing planesiof Fig. 2.

Refer-ringim'ore particularly to =the-disclosmie in the -drawingspthe numeral ill designates-the -legrest pad of my device. Ifhis Ipr'efer'toform with -a' curved *transversesection lscy as' -to" :gen- 'erallyKsupport the =l'eg 'of ishe user 'w'ell "across thatsection of the leg. It should-allsoahave reasonable-lengthso thatthe bearing "pressure on :the leg :can be keptat such a lowde'gree as to in sno way interfere with the blood circulatory system. -Norm'allyf1 prefer to form th is'zmemwber ofsheet @stock, 1 (either of the lighter "*weight metals --or thevpla'sticmaterials. Secured-to the "bottom center of pad lll-'is=a positioningvsleeve l2. This-sleeve'should "be ifixedly'secured' to pad 110 and have-suifie i'ent downward extension 'soas ito proi-z-ide.euzle'ciuate bearing against the possibilityiof the pad rocking. When used on "a vertical-member 4 of reasonable size, the overellelen'gth of" sleeve IIZ should be'su fficient so that abiifierspring E116 may be-employed/after the Sh0Wing 0f--1Eig.' 3, a so that the-small shockinc idental 'to normal driving will be taken care-of at thiswpoint and not transmitted from the body :of the car-to the user.

It' must 'be borne-fin mind while considering thisvfeature of the design that thewdriver :of a car has his weight supported-largely by the spring asystem of the seat cushions. Consequently, as the car lnovesconsiderably in the vertical plane, lie may tend 'to-sta'y more or less in a given horizontapp lane. @n-theother hand,--his foot, rest ing onthe-fioor "of-the car, naturally moves with the car-body, and this supporti-ngdevice which 1 have provided, being positioned intermediate these two extremes; must of necessity take care :of certain displacements if it is going'to serve its proper purpose. In other words, it could "not baa-fixed member, -or"unnecessary shock would *bCv-tlfisllSHllttBd to-the-drivers leg. Therefore, itfollows that the overall length of spring 1-6, 'orwhatever other-cushioning device may he employed, must :be adequate to take care zof-the minor deflection so caused.

'I osecure pad '4 B- to its supporting shaft I4, ,Il:provide za' pin l8 which is 1 fixedly secured at -the upper -end or tube l4 and is adapted-tore- :ci-p'rocate -within-a'slot-orguide 2i) iormed in This pin-also provides a convenient abutment for spring 46. These "constructions azzepprobably hest illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

} shait J'4,"Whi0h may be aeithera ssolid er tubular "member, is adapted for telescoping within the main support or pivot tube 22. This tube in turn is pivotably supported to the bracket or shoe 24, as by pin 26.

I have illustrated shoe 24 as having the flange members 28, which are arranged so that the shoe can be riveted or otherwise secured to the floor of the automobile. I then provide as part of shoe 24 a U-shaped wall 30, which has sufiicient upward extent to form a guide for my supporting members I4 and 22, so that there will be no longitudinal movement of pad Ill when my device is installed under conditions of use.

It is, however, desirable to have transverse movement of the device and to provide limits for that transverse movement. I therefore have arranged that the curved portion 32 of wall 33 will form one end limit and then I provide holes that pass in pairs through both walls of member 30 as 34, 33, and 38. Through these holes, the operator of the car can insert a suitable pin after he has determined the maximum of transverse movement to be desired. It has been found that the most convenient pin for this use is ,a split pin made after the fashion of a cotter, in that, of its own resiliency, it provides a locking security for the pin, yet permits its easy removal for subsequent change as adjustments become desirable.

It next becomes desirable that a friction securing means be provided to hold the vertical shaft I 4' in adjusted position with respect to shaft 22. There are two actions which can only be fulfilled by some form of friction engagement. One is the desirable feature that the angular position of rest portion I!) should be capable of easy adjustment with respect to the longitudinal axis, for instance, of foot 24, so that as an operator changes his leg position, pad I should follow that change without undue attention from the operator, and I have provided the device shown in Figs. 2 and 4 to achieve this form of operation. A second requirement is that when a very severe jolt is encountered by the car, instead of it being transmitted to the leg of the driver, the frictional engagement between members It and 22 should act as a safety release and permit any rapid movement to cause a slippage of these two members rather than transmit the full force of the impact to the driver. To achieve these purposes, I have provided a friction locking means which consists of a locking collar 40 having a bore 12 of a size so that normally shaft M can slide freely through it, but when the collar ll! is tipped or canted, the square edges of opening 12 will bite into, or at least provide extreme frictional pressure on the shaft l4 and arrest its movement.

The canting of washer 42 is achieved by having the upper end of the hollow shaft 22, as 14, beveled at the approximate angle shown in Fig. and that means be provided, as spring 4'6, to insure a definite tendency for the washer to seek to engage surface 44. This provides a troublefree release means which under normal pressure conditions prevents slipping of the two members. Spring 45, however, should be so selected and adjusted that undue shock will cause a slippage at this point.

In order to permit free movement of shaft Hi, I provide the finger lever portion 18 which, when it is pressed in towards the tube, causes washer 40 to assume a position normal to the shaft 14 and. permit its free passage therethrough. It is to be noted that I have employed ears struck from member All and tube 22 to provide the locating means for washer 40 and the spring positioning means for spring 46. This has been found to be convenient and economical.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a leg support device.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A leg-supportin device for use by automobile drivers, consisting of: a transversely curved leg rest pad; a telescopic support for said pad having a pivoted tube and a supporting shaft slidable within said pivoted tube; buffer means disposed between said leg rest pad and said supporting shaft; friction locking means adapted to secure said telescopic support in adjustable height position; a bracket adapted to be secured to the fioor of an automobile and to pivotably support said telescopic support; said bracket having a U-shaped wall adapted to guide said telescopic support and restrict it to movement in one plane; a plurality of aligned holes through said U-shaped wall disposed to receive limit stop pins adapted to limit the extent of movement of said telescopic support.

2. A leg-supporting device for use by automobile drivers, consisting of a transversely curved leg rest pad; a telescopic support for said pad having a pivoted tube and a supporting shaft slidable within said pivoted tube; compression means disposed between said leg rest pad and said means adapted to limit the displacement between said pad and said supporting shaft; friction locking means adapted to secure said telescopic support in adjustable height position; a bracket adapted to be secured to the floor of an automobile and to pivotably support said telescopic support; said bracket having a U-shaped wall adapted to guide said telescopic support and restrict it to movement in one plane; a plurality of aligned holes through said U-shaped wall adapted to receive limit stop pins adapted to limit the extent of movement of said telescopic support.

3. A leg-resting device for use by automobile drivers, consisting of: a transversely curved leg rest pad; a telescopic support for said pad having a pivoted tube and a supporting shaft slidable within said pivoted tube; buffer means disposed between said leg rest pad and said supporting shaft; friction locking means adapted to secure REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,224,982 Washeim May 8, 1917 1,361,733 Jones Dec. 7, 1920 1,362,692 Goldstein Dec. 21, 1920 1,740,267 Remington Dec. 17, 1929 2,224,339 Davis Dec. 10, 1940 2,225,818

Brooks Dec. 24, 1940 

